OF 8ELB0RNE. 253 



and torpid of beings distinguishes the hand 

 that feeds it, and is touched with the feel- 

 ings of gratitude ! I am, &c. &c. 



r 



P. S. In about three days after I left 

 Sussex the tortoise retired into the ground 

 under the hepatica. 



LETTER XIV. 



TO THE SAME. 

 DEAR SIR; Selborne, March 26, 1773. 



Th E more I reflect on the <rro^yri of ani- 

 mals, the more I am astonished at its 

 effects. Nor is the violence of this affection 

 more wonderful than the shortness of its 

 duration. Thus every hen is in her turn 

 the virago of the yard, in proportion to the 

 helplessness of her brood ; and will fly in 

 the face of a dog or a sow in defence of 

 those chickens, which in a few weeks she 

 will drive before herwith relentless cruelty. 



